Reciprocating dry shaver having stationary first cutting head means and extensible second cutting head means



Dec. 22, 1959 G. J. BRAUSS 2,917,824

RECIPROCATING DRY SHAVER HAVING STATIONARY FIRST CUTTING HEAD MEANS ANDEXTENSIBLE SECOND CUTTING HEAD MEANS Filed Feb. 19. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Fig. 2

IN VEN TO'R Gusavdo. kob Brauss j mfi kw 24 flaw ALOFHEl/S Dec. 22, 1959G. J. BRAUSS RECIPROCATING DRY SHAVER HAVING STATIONARY FIRST CUTTINGHEAD MEANS AND EXTENSIBLE SECOND CUTTING HEAD MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Feb. 19, 1958 OOOOQOOOO l/V VE/VTOR Gusfiau Jakob Brews;

' Aorne s nited States Patent RECIPROCATING DRY SHAVER HAVING STA-TIONARY FIRST CUTTING HEAD MEANS AND EXTENSIBLE SECOND CUTTING HEADMEANS Giistav Jakob Braiiss, Goldach, Switzerland, assignor to APAGApparatebau A.G., Goidacll, Goldach, Switzerland, a Swiss companyApplication February 19, 1958, Serial No. 716,095

Claims priority, application Switzerland May 16, 1957 Claims. (Cl.30-34) This invention relates to a dry shaver and more particularly to adry shaver comprising a housing which serves as a handle, a drivingmotor incorporated inside said housing, a screen-type cutting headsecured to said housing and having a screening foil and an oscillatedcutting blade, and a direct-action cutting head having a cutter-comb anda cutting blade.

Objects of the invention are to provide, in a dry shaver of the typestated, a direct-action cutting head mounted to be displaceable as asingle unit in such manner that in the operative position itscutter-comb and its cutter blade project through an opening in saidhousing to the exterior of said housing and alongside said screen-typecutting head, whereas in the position of rest the cuttercomb and thecutting blade of said direct-action cutting head are retracted withinsaid housing; and automatically operating coupling means providedbetween said driving motor and said cutting blade of the direct-actioncutting head in such manner that the cutting blade of the directactioncutting head is only oscillated by means of said driving motor when saiddirect-action cutting head is in its projecting operative position,whereas, in the retracted position of rest of said direct-action cuttinghead its cutting blade is uncoupled from said driving motor and remainsstationary. Another object of the invention is a dry shaver of the kindoutlined comprising a catapultaction spring supported in the housing ofthe dry shaver and which tends to move said direct-cutting head out ofits retracted position of rest into said projecting operative position,a catch member elastically mounted in said housing and against whichsaid direct-action cutting head abuts in its retracted position of restunder the action of said catapult-action spring, and manually operablemeans projecting out of said housing for releasing said catch member andthereby releasing said direct-action cutting head so that the latter ischanged over automatically under the action of said catapult-actionspring into said projecting operative position.

These and other objects and the advantages of the invention will best beunderstood from the following description of a specific embodiment whenread in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the end of the dry shaverwhich is provided with two cutting heads, the direct-action cutting headbeing situated in the projecting operative position, and the sectionbeing taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 2 shows the same end of the dry shaver in a view similar to that ofFig. 1, but showing the direct-action cutting head in the retractedposition of rest, and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the end of the dry shaver shown in Fig. 1, withthe direct-action cutting head situated in the projecting operativeposition, the housing cover surrounding this cutting head being removed.

The housing of the dry shaver comprises two shell-like housing parts 4and 5 of synthetic plastic material or the like to which metal covers 6and 7 can be elastically 2,917,824 Patented Dec. 22, 1959 fastened. Thehousing parts 4 and 5 are held together by a plurality of screws ofwhich only the screws 8 and 9 are shown in the drawings. The drivingmotor is in corporated within the widened portion of the housing, whichis only partly illustrated. The driving motor is conveniently anelectric motor and more particularly an oscillating armature motor,which comprises an iron core it) which is preferably elastically mountedbetween the housing parts 4 and 5, an energizing winding 11 which isfixed on the iron core 10 and which is traversed in the usual manner byalternating current, and an oscillating armature 12 which is articulatedto the iron core. 10. The said armature generally consists of alaminated iron core and is provided at its free end with a cast-ondriving member 13 of wear-resistant material-such as is known forexample under the registered trademark Nylon. The driving member 13comprises two pins 14 and 15 which project at an angle relatively toeach other, and which are used for driving the cutting blades of the twocutting heads directly.

The screen-type cutting head of the dry shaver consists of a screeningfoil 16 which is clamped over the arcuate end of the housing parts 4 and5, and of a cutting blade 17 which is pressed against the foil 16 bymeans of a spring 18 and having an aperture 19 engaged by the pin 14. Asshown in Fig. 1, the screening foil 16 is clamped at one end to thehousing part 5, whilst its other end is riveted to the housing cover 6.i

The direct-action cutting head is arranged within the other housingcover 7. It consists substantially of a part 29 which is provided with acutter-comb 21, and of a cutting blade 22. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2,the cutting blade 22 is mounted directly on the part 21) and is pressedagainst the latter by means of a spring. 23 which is bent over at aplurality of points. The central part of the spring 23 (Fig. 3) bearsagainst lugs 24, 25, 26, 2'7, 28 which are bent out from the part 20 inthe manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2. On the other hand, the free ends ofthe spring 23 rest in recesses 29, 30 which are provided in the cuttingblade 22. The cutting blade 22 has also two parallel slots 31, 32 .intowhich guide members 33, 34 engage with adequate clearance for movement.Thus, the cutting blade 22 is mounted for rec'iprocatory movementtransverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaver in a plane parallel tothe plane of sta-. tionary cutter part 211' As can be seen, the ends ofthe spring 23 accompany the movement of the cutting blade 1 The part 20which is provided with the cutter-comb 21: has further guide pieces 35,36 which engage in a stepped,

guide slot 37 formed in a bearing plate 38. The latter has twoscrew-threaded holes, in which the screws 8 and. 9 can be screwed, sothat the bearing plate 38 is thereby screwed rigidly to the housingparts 4 and 5. Alsojim sertedbetween the bearing plate 38 and thehousing, part 5 is a leaf spring 39 and the one end of the screening,

foil 16 so that these parts also, are connected fast to the housing.Since the lugs 25 and 26 bent out from the. part 29 also engage inthe'slot 37 of the bearing plate, 38, the direct-action cutting head 20to 22 is; mounted so as to be displaceable as an entire unit in thebearing plate 33, and can be projected and retracted longitudinally withrespectto the shaver at the forward end thereof,

The two guide pieces 35 and 36 act at the same time as. abutments inconnection with the stepped slot 37, so that the direct-action cuttinghead can take up the end positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In Fig. 1,the direct-action cutting head 20 to 22 is in the operative position inwhich it projects from the aperture 40 arranged in the housing cover 7.The position shown in Fig. 2 is the rest position inwhich thecutter-comb 21 and the toothed part of the cutting blade 22 areretracted in the housing 4- to 7. In order to prevent the part 20provided with the cuttercomb 21 from being lifted away accidentally fromthe bearing plate 38, the leaf spring 39 has two bent over elastic limbs41 and 42 which tend to press the part 20 against the bearing plate 38.

The leaf spring 39 also comprises a pressed-in catch member 43 ofnon-symmetric wedge-shape (Figs. 1 and 2), against which the lugs 25 and26 can abut either the left-hand or right-hand sides depending on theposition of the direct-action cutting head 2%) to 22. Thus said catch 43makes it possible to fix the end positions, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, ofthe direct-action cutting-head 20 to 22. A control button 44 fixed on anextension of the leaf spring 39 and projecting through an opening 45 inthe housing cover 7 serves to press the leaf spring 39 inwardly andtherefore to release the catch member 43. Projecting through a furtheropening 46 in the housing cover 7 is a restoring lever 47 which isriveted to a securing lug 48 bent out from the part 20. The inner bentover end of'the restoring lever 47 bears against a catapult-actionspring 49. This spring 49 is carried by means of its endsin slots th and51 which are formed in the housing parts 4 and 5. The catapult-actionspring 49 is so dimensioned that it tends to press the wholedirectaction cutting head to 22 continuously towards the left (Figs. 1to 3). In the position of rest shown in Fig. 2, the lugs 25, 26 arepressed against the steep flank of the catch member 43 by the action ofthe catapult-action spring 49, so that the catch member 43 secures thisposition of rest and maintains it. But if the control button 44 ispressed inwards, then the lugs and 26 are released from the catch member43 and the catapult-action spring 49 displaces the whole direct-actioncutting head 20 to 22 out of the retracted position of rest shown inFig. 2 into the projecting operative position shown in Fig. 1, in whichthe guide pieces 35 and 36 bear against the ends of the slot 37 as aresult of the action of the catapult-action spring 49 (Fig. 3). cuttinghead 20 to 22 from the projecting operative position'shown in Fig. 1into the retracted position of rest shown in Fig. 2, the restoring lever47 (Figs. 1 and 2) is pressed from the left towards the right until thelugs 25, 26 run over the catch member 43 and the latter becomesoperative.

Thecoupling pin 15 is provided for driving the cutting blade 22 of thedirect-action cutting head 20 to 22. This pin projects through anopening 52 which is formed in the leaf spring 39, through the slot 37 inthe bearing plate 38, and through the aperture 53 which is provided inthe part 26, into a generally H-shaped aperture 54 which is arranged inthe cutting blade 22. The opening 52, the slot 37 and the aperture 53are so generously dimensioned that the coupling pin 15 as it oscillatesto and fro transversely to the longitudinal axis of the shaver is notable to contact the leaf spring 39, the bearing plate 38 and the part29, as will be seen from Fig. 3. On the other hand the l-l-shapedaperture 54 is so arranged and fashioned in the cutting blade 22 thatwhen the directaction cutting head 2t) to 22 is in the projectingoperative position (Fig. 1), the coupling pin 15 extends through theH-shaped aperture 54' at its narrow central region and thus entrains thecutting blade 22 in its reciprocating motion. When the cutting head 20to 22 is displaced into its position of rest towards the right in Fig.3, one end portion of the H-shaped aperture 54 coincides with thecoupling pin 15, so that the latter oscillates freely to and fro in theaperture 54, without entraining the cutting blade 22. The direct-actioncutting head 20 to In order to return the direct-action 4 22 istherefore coupled to the driving member 13 only in its projectingoperative position (Fig. 1), whereas when the said cutting head is inthe retracted position of rest (Fig. 2), it is automatically uncoupledfrom the driving member 13 and remains at rest.

Manipulation of the dry shaver which has been described hereinbefore isextremely convenient and simple. A man will generally shave first of allwith the screentype cutting head 16, 17. The direct-action cutting head20 to 22 is retained in the retracted position of rest and therebypreserved from damage to a considerable extent. Thus there is also norisk, when shaving near the head hair, that the direct-action cuttinghead 20 to 22 will accidentally cut into the hairs. If the direct-actioncutting head 20 to 22 were arranged for example fixedly in the housing 4to 7so that it would then of course be in its operative position-theperson shaving would have to be at least much more careful and give hismaximum attention to what he was doing. Then, if the head hair is to betrimmed off neatly, by pressing on the control button 44 thedirect-action cutting head 20 to 22 is pro jected into its operativeposition as shown in Fig. 1, without having to shut off the motor of thedry shaver temporarily. Since the cutter-comb 21 and the cutting blade22 project directly alongside the screen-type cutting head 16, 17through the opening 40, it is possible to operate once with thedirect-action cutting head 20 to 22 without changing the grip on thehousing of the dry shaver. When the operation of cutting relatively longhairs or the like is concluded, the restoring lever 47 is pushed towardsthe right (as viewed in the drawings) by means of the finger nail,whereupon the direct-action cutting head 20 to 22 is brought into theretracted position of rest and rendered inoperative. Shaving can then becontinued if necessary with the screen-type cutting head 16, 17.

The invention is not limited to the particular embodiments here shownand described. Various modifications may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. Dry shaving apparatus comprising a housing, a screen-type cuttinghead connected to said housing and including a screening foil rigidlyconnected to said housing and a first cutting blade, a driving memberwithin said housing, said driving member being connected to said firstcutting blade, means reciprocating said driving member to reciprocatesaid first cutting blade in a direc tion parallel to the axis of saidscreening foil, a directaction cutting head slidably connected withinsaid housing adjacent said screen-type cutting head for extension andretraction through an opening in said housing, said direct-actioncutting head includirv a cutter-comb and a second cutting blade, andmeans connecting said second cutting blade to said driving member tocause reciprocation of said second cutting member relative to saidcutter-comb solely when said direct-action cutting head is in itsextended position relative to said housing.

2. Shaving apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said second cuttingblade has an H-shaped aperture therein, and further wherein said meansconnecting said second cutting blade 'to said driving member comprises apin secured to said driving member and extending through the aperture insaid second cutting blade, said recess being so oriented in said secondcutting blade that when said direct-action cutting head is in itsretracted position said pin reciprocates freely within a portion of thesecond cutter blade aperture and said second cutter blade remainsstationary relative to said cutter-comb and when said direct-actioncutting head is in its extending position, said pin cooperates with aside wail of said aperture; to reciprocate said second cutter blade.

3. Shaving apparatus as defined in claim 1, and further including acatapult-action spring mounted in said housing for -J1ormallybiasingsaid direct-action cutting head towards its extended operating position,catch means within said housing for normally retaining said directactioncutting head in its retracted position against the biasing force of saidcatapult-action spring, and manual- 1y operable means extending fromsaid housing for releasing said catch means and thus releasing saiddirectaction cutting head.

4. Shaving apparatus as defined in claim 3 and further includingrestoring lever means projecting through an opening provided in saidhousing for returning said direct-action cutting head from its extendedoperative position to its retracted position against the biasing forceof said catapult-action spring.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said restoring lever isrigidly connected to said cutter-comb and has an inwardly directedextension bearing against said catapult-action spring so that saidcatapult-action spring acts on said direct-action cutting head by meansof the restoring lever extension.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,370,544 Jepson Feb. 27, 1945

